Trust or individual?
The honest comparison, including the part where a trust is probably not what you need.
Individual registration.
You own the item. You are the only person who may legally possess it. The paperwork is a Form 4 with your fingerprints and photo, and it is the simplest route by a wide margin. For most single owners, this is the right answer.
A gun trust.
The trust owns the item and every responsible person named in the trust may legally possess it. That is the whole point of it. If your spouse might be home alone with the safe open, if you want a shooting partner to be able to use the can, or if you want the item to pass to family without a second transfer, a trust does something an individual registration cannot.
The cost side has changed.
The old argument for a trust was partly about the $200 tax — a trust made it easier to share items and so avoid duplicate stamps. With the stamp at $0 that argument is much weaker. What is left is genuinely about possession and inheritance, which is a legal question, not a money one.
What the paperwork actually costs you.
Every responsible person on the trust submits their own fingerprints and photo, and the trust document goes in with the application. That is more forms and more prints, not a longer approval. Add people deliberately.
We are not your lawyer.
A trust is a legal instrument and how it is drafted matters. We can tell you how each route affects the transfer we are handling; we cannot advise you on estate planning. If the inheritance question is the reason you are asking, talk to an attorney who does this.
Common questions
Does a trust get approved faster?
No. Approval times track the ATF's queue, not the applicant type.
Can my wife shoot my suppressor if it is registered to me?
Not unless you are present and it remains under your control. If you want her to be able to possess it independently, that is what a trust is for.
Do I need a trust to buy a suppressor?
No. Individual registration is completely standard and is the simpler application.
Can I add the suppressor to a trust later?
Moving an item from individual to trust ownership is a new transfer with new paperwork. Decide before you file, not after.